


With You I'm Free

by A Small World (Datawolf39)



Series: Little Zuko [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Found Family, Friendship, Honesty, Hugs, Non-Sexual Age Play, Ozai's A+ Parenting, Toph does what she wants, Zuko is affection starved, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26486404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Datawolf39/pseuds/A%20Small%20World
Summary: Zuko is working too much so he gets liberated.OrThe one where Toph kidnaps Zuko.
Relationships: Toph Beifong & Zuko
Series: Little Zuko [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921459
Comments: 18
Kudos: 191





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sylph_of_Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylph_of_Heart/gifts).



> You have asked, and I have written.
> 
> Also this is two parts because, chapter one, is where it seemed natural to stop, but when I reread the comment it said 'It'd be interesting to see Toph meet little Zuko...' so I thought and thought, and right before I left out the door this morning, I was hit with inspiration, and honestly I think this installment is better because it continued further than I had intended. So double thanks to Sylph.

“Raise and shine, Sparky!” 

“Toph I’m already awak- wait why are you even-”

“Shut it Flamey, we got stuff to do.”

“I’m busy.”

“Not anymore,” the girl said, “Now come on before I decide to make you.”

Zuko considered his options, and put away his papers. 

“So where are we going?” he asked as they left the palace.

“I’m kidnapping you for a day of fun.”

“Toph, you can’t-”

“Zuko, the Sugar Queen is literally dying of worry because of you.”

“What?”

“Everyone knows you work too much, and she literally considered kidnapping to make you take a break. So I did it instead.”

Zuko sighed. There was no use fighting it, and if he was being honest, he had been pulling a bunch of all nighters recently. “This is going to end badly for me,” he said.

“Live a little, Sparky.”

“Kidnapped by a kid. Wait is that even possible?”

“Come on,” Toph said, running ahead.

Zuko sighed, and chased after her.

When they stopped they were well outside of the city, in a meadow surrounded by a cluster of trees.

“Tired already,” Toph taunts.

“No,” Zuko says, trying not to sound out of breath.

“You can’t lie to me, Sparky. Admit it, you’re out of shape.”

“You would be too if you’d been hit with lightning.”

“Ah that’s fair,” she agrees, flopping on the ground.

Zuko sits next to her. 

“What’s got you worried, Sunshine?”

Zuko sighed. Sometimes he really didn’t like that the girl could read his moods so easily. “Sometimes I feel like you all are too nice to me. Eventually, you’re going to get tired of me being the way I am, and I’m just wondering how long it will take.”

“You’re an idiot,” Toph said. 

“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better.”

“No, I mean, yes you’re an idiot, but not in a bad way. Look, Zuko, I’m not all soft and fluffy like the Sugar Queen, and Twinkletoes.” She sighs. “I like you, you’re funny, and you treat me like a person, and unless you change back to how you were before, you’re stuck with us.”

“Ow, what was that for?” he cried when she punched him on the arm.

She shrugs. “It’s how I show affection.”

Zuko looked at her. Would she still stay if she knew how desperate he was for affection? If she knew how he acted sometimes because of that need?

“What’s wrong now, Sparky?”

She was the youngest out of them. Would knowing about the times he felt small make her think that he was broken? Would she be disgusted? There was only one way to find out. He trusted her, and he just had to hope that her feelings for him proved to be equally strong.

“There’s something that I found out about myself, and I want to tell you, well warn you, because chances are, if you stick around, you’ll find out anyway, because that’s what seems to be happening with everyone else.”

“Just tell me so I can tell you it’s fine, and your heart can stop trying to jump out of your chest.”

Zuko took a breath. “So, I found out that sometimes I feel small, and basically I become a little kid again. I know it’s weird and I would love to be swallowed up by a hole right now.”

“Hey!” he cried out as a shallow hole opened beneath him.

“You said you wanted to be swallowed by a hole,” Toph managed as she cackled in delight. Then she took pity on him, and brought him up, and filled the hole. “So, when do I see you when you feel small?”

Zuko blinked. How was it possible that she didn’t really seem to care? Was she pretending? “I- I don’t know. It just happens when I’m tired or overwhelmed, and someone I trust is nearby. I don’t really control when it happens.”

“Well, just don’t leave me out of this. I didn’t get to have a life changing trip with you, and I don’t want to be the only one of our group excluded from this too.”

“I wouldn’t… I mean I thought you might be disgusted, but I want you to be there. You guys are what I imagine a good family to be like, and I don’t think I can be small without someone there with me.”

Toph scooted closer to him, leaning her weight on his body. “Who’s seen you small so far?”

“Katara was the first.”

“Of course, it makes sense, since she’s the team mom.”

“Then Aang, and Sokka.”

“That leaves me and Suki. Are you going to tell her?”

“Yeah. I think I want to, because she’s part of this crazy group too.”

“I guess we should head back, I’m sure you have some work to do.”

Zuko thought about the endless paperwork, and the multitude of problems he would be expected to solve. “Kidnap me for a little longer?”

Toph laughed. “Can do, Sparky, can do.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day of calm and play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a bit to edit and believe me when I say it is much better for the time spent going over it.

Zuko knew that time was passing, if nothing else, the position of the sun gave that away, but it still felt as though no time was passing at all, because there was nobody demanding his presence, and he wasn’t facing any deadlines, self-imposed or otherwise. Here he was just free to be Zuko. Toph, for her part, seemed content to relax in silence, as long as he wanted to, and so he was left with nothing to do other than think about his conversation with Toph. 

His confession had gone far better than he had hoped. With the others, he hadn’t really had a choice, so he hadn’t had much time to fret over how they would react, but this time it had been different. He told her as his usual self, and not when he was on the cusp of that smallness. That brought its own set of worries though. Sure, she had reacted well to his admission, but what if she felt differently once she had experienced him being small?

There was only one way to assuage that fear. He would have to experience her reaction, but that brought on another problem. He didn’t know if he could become small like that just because he wanted to. It had always happened when he was feeling too much stress or when he was panicking, and he didn’t want to push himself into those feelings. 

Maybe he could trigger it some other way though? It had to be possible, because, while thus far, the triggers had been negative, once his fears had been addressed, he remained small, and was happy to have the comfort offered by those that cared about him. 

He thought about the way he felt when Katara had given Tutu back to him, and the way it felt when she had tucked him, and told him a story. He thought about the way Aang had flown him around the room, and the soft gentle voice he’d used to speak to him. He thought about how silly Sokka had been, and the way they had cuddled on his bed, with Tutu between them as they napped. 

Zuko shivered.

“You’re cold?” Toph asked, a bit of worry in her tone. It was a nice day by Fire Nation standards, meaning of course, it was very hot, and the only way to explain being cold in this climate would be being sick.

Zuko thought about lying, but lying was for big Zuko, not for his small self, and more than that he didn’t want to, because she would know he was, and lying would just tell Toph he didn’t trust her. “No,” he said softly. “It’s jus kinda scary being outside like this.”

“Oh,” she said, and in that one word, he knew that she knew that he was feeling small. It was confirmed with her next question. “You’re normally inside when you feel like this aren’t you?”

“Yeah, in my room is safe.”

Toph nods. Then, suddenly, four long slabs of earth rise from the ground. They surround both of them, and leave a circular hole above so that Zuko can still see the sky. “Is this better?” she asks.

“Cool,” he said, his voice filled with wonder.

Toph laughs.

“I meant yes, this is better. Safer.”

“You want to draw with me?”

“Draw?”

Toph makes a sharp rock, and starts to randomly carve into the rock wall closest to her. “I do this when I’m bored.”

“I don’t have a rock,” he said.

“You should use your fire.”

“I don’t know if I can,” he said. He didn’t like the idea of using fire when he felt this small. 

“Try, if it doesn't work out, I’ll let you use a rock.”

Zuko swallowed. “What if… what if I lose control?”

“I don’t think you will, but I’ll be ready just in case.”

“Okay.” With that he embraced his inner fire, it was warm, bright, and welcoming. Within moments he had a small flame balanced on the tip of his finger. “I did it!”

It dawned on him then, that Toph, a master of her element, would never be amazed by such a weak little fire. This was nothing compared to what he could do when he wasn’t small, after all. It was stupid to think that anyone would ever be proud of him for making such a small flame, especially considering he had a prodigy for a sister. Azula had never been impressed by anything he could do, because she was always better than him at bending, and no matter how hard he tried, and how many hours he devoted to training, he could never hope to reach her level.

Toph moved closer, hands cupping the small flame. “It’s so warm,” she said with a smile. 

“But… it’s small.”

“And?”

“Imma firebender, I need to be able to do it better.”

“I’m sure you could make a bigger one, but you wanted to make a small flame. This shows you have control of your element, and you didn’t even know if you could bend when you felt like this, so this is awesome.”

The komodo rhino that had taken up residence on his chest, seemed to vanish. “Zula, and dad, always laughed at my flames.”

“Zuko, your sister, and dad, were really awful, seriously they were the worst.  _ I  _ think you’re amazing, and that’s all that matters.”

“You think I'm amazing even though you’re so strong?” 

“Yeah, I mean, you are my favorite firebender for a reason, after all.”

“What about Uncle?”

Toph smiles. “You’re still my favorite. Don’t tell the old man though, it might break his heart.”

Zuko giggled.

“Okay, now the fun part. Use your flame to draw something on the rock, and I’ll try to guess what it is.”

“I’m not good at making pictures.”

“And?”

“It will be less fun?”

“Just try. If you don’t like it, then we can just do something else.”

Zuko gets on his knees, takes the small flame, and uses it to mark the rock. At first it’s a bit hard using the flame to draw, but as he works it becomes easier. It also helps that marks show up on the rock easier than they should, and he wonders how Toph had been able to do something like that. Soon enough though, he gets lost in the drawing. He really is awful at it, but it is still fun to do it.

“Done,” he says, as he sits back down. They let it cool, and then Toph runs her hands over it. 

“Turtleduck?”

“How’d you guess?”

“You must be better at drawing than you thought.”

“Really?”

“Want to do another one?”

“Yeah!”

By the time Toph removed the walls, the sun was on it’s way down. “Do we have to go back?” Zuko asked softly.

“Yeah, Sunshine, we do, I bet people are getting antsy by now.”

“I gotta stop being small, don’t I?”

“Can you?”

“I think so.”

“Just remember, I can kidnap you again, if you want me to.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, Sparky, it’s a promise.”

“Can I…” 

“Yeah?”

“Can I have a hug?” he asked timidly.

All Zuko saw was a flash of green, and suddenly, he was on the ground. Toph was on top of him cackling like someone who was truly mad.

He found himself giggling, and shifting both of them, until it was a more conventional hug.

After a moment, Zuko pulled away. “Thanks, Toph.” 

“Ready to head back, Lord Firepants?”

“Yeah,” he says with a sigh, “I’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

They walk for a while, and the moment they reach the threshold of the city, Toph said, “last one back to the palace brushes Appa tonight.” Then she took off.

“That's not fair!” Zuko called, chasing after her.

She won, of course. Zuko highly suspected she had cheated, even still he honored the bet, mostly because he kinda missed brushing the air bison. While it was a real chore, Appa liked him a lot, and he had to admit he did like spending time with the giant floof ball.

First though, he needed to finish a least a portion of the work he had been going to finish today, otherwise he would be drowned in it by the time tomorrow came. He went into his room, and found the desk unusually clean. There was a note though, and he quickly recognized Katara’s handwriting. 

_ Zuko, _

_ We took care of most of the work you had planned for the day, the only thing left for you to do is sign a few documents. I hope you let yourself have some fun today. Please, try to take it easy from time to time when we are not here to bully you into resting. It would go a long way to making it so we don’t worry quite as much.  _

_ Love,  _

_ Katara _

_ P.S. Aang and Sokka had an argument over who could be the best big brother to you. You might want to talk to them soon so they don’t smother you with affection. _

Zuko smiled. Too much affection, seemed like a nice problem to have. He would ask them not to overdo it, but, even now, he knew it would prove to be a futile effort, because it was Aang, and Sokka. Despite himself the smile remained as he made his way out to the courtyard where Appa liked to rest. The air bison gave him a friendly lick, when he arrived, and then settled down so that Zuko could start brushing him. Smile still in place, Zuko got to work.


End file.
